Mile Markers: Juneary

Early June in the Seattle area feels like February: chilly, damp, and gray. Sometimes the sun peeks out in the afternoon but as a morning runner, most miles of my miles were full Juneary weather. Arm warmers become an essential piece of gear again in June. We have glorious patches of sunshine that remind us it actually is summer, but the temperatures feel more like early spring.

Although honestly, minus the drizzle, it’s not that bad for running.

Monday: 3 miles at tempo (7 miles total) & 30 minutes Pilates

Another bread-and-butter tempo run, just like last week, with 240 feet of total elevation gain (most in the first half). For the tempo miles, I ran 7:14, 7:09, and 7:04 – my legs felt better the longer I held the faster pace. June weather set in, which mean chilly temperatures (49 at the start), dull gray skies, and a barely perceptible drizzle of rain.

My mat and magic circle Pilates workout was aptly called “Ring of Fire” and left my core quaking for a few minutes after the completion of the workout.

Tuesday: 7 mile easy run

When Charlie and I started our run, gray skies and high humidity loomed. By the time I ran Charlie for three miles and started Ollie on his run, the clouds gave way to beautiful sunshine.

Wednesday: 6 mile fartek run & 45 minutes strength training

I accidentally hit the lap button on my Garmin right at the one-mile mark, triggering my programmed workout to start. I probably could have stopped my watch and restarted the workout, but I was already aware that I probably didn’t hydrate enough before this run (too much coffee, too little water). I ran 1-2-3-2-1-2-3-2-1 minutes hard with equal recovery time.

Lately, I have been enjoying focusing one strength day on kettlebell exercises and the second on barbell exercises. For Wednesday’s strength workout, I used the kettlebell for swings, single leg deadlifts, windmills, deadbugs, and reverse lunges with a single arm overhead press.

I also did some TRX rows, eccentric pull-ups, bicep curls and reverse flyes; while I normally don’t like isolation exercises, I have a few weak links in my chain that need to be strengthened for pull-up progress. I wrapped up the workout with box jumps and was excited for a rest day.

Thursday: Rest

Friday: 8 mile run & strength train

Ollie’s mileage was low during the weeks surrounding my half marathon, so he needed a bit of a boost to get him back to his normal range of 7-10 mile runs. I took him to a paved trail so we could run without any cars, street crossings, or things that scare him. Most of our run was smooth, steady, and enjoyable, even in true Juneary weather. Ollie even threw in a few surges during the final miles when he spotted some rabbits hiding in the grass.

After work, Ryan and I strength trained together at the gym. We did barbell deadlifts, barbell squats, bench presses, TRX rows, and hanging leg raises, plus some random core, plyometrics, and upper body exercises.

Saturday: 4 mile run

When Ryan and I embarked on our run with heavy, tired legs and an overeager Labraheeler. Our first mile was slow, but by the final two miles, we were holding a comfortable 8:20-ish pace. Of course, the sun peeked out after our run, so we immediately retreated to our porch to soak up any bit of vitamin D that we could.

Sunday: 3.5 mile hike

We took both dogs on a short hike at Lord Hill Regional Park, which is a popular park for trail running, light hikes, and mountain biking. Ollie and Charlie had a such a fun time on the hike, which was utterly adorable.

Comments

I think I would prefer hot and humid weather in June, especially when it feels like we just got finished with winter. While its been hot and humid here, we have also had a ton of rain, especially on the weekends. Looks like a great week of workouts!

I feel like camping is a complete Juneary experience with HOT days and freezing nights! It was all worth it and, like you said, not bad for running weather. I hope you get into real summer soon and can enjoy more long hikes with your 4-legged buddies! That last pic is the BEST!!

Ollie really does love the cooler weather – even sunny and 60s can be a bit too much for him on longer efforts. Those shorts are the Saucony Scoot shorts – they have a longer inseam (6 inches for these, and I think they come in 8 inches also) and don’t ride up at all. I’ve even been comfortable wearing them to the gym to lift.

My week was non-existent, until I played soccer yesterday. 🙂 Glad to see you made it out for a nearby hike. Weather this weekend was kind of nuts, but I do think nicer than originally projected (as in….rain held off until later in the day, at least from projections I had seen going into the weekend).

As for the weather…the hot runs are okay on occasion, but overall, I would prefer Juneary for running.

I feel like I live in Seattle right now! We are having the exact weather you describe. It really does wear on a person. Altho this morning, I had a fabulous run because it was only 60 degrees. Can’t complain about that!!

I really need to figure out how to set up fartleks on my watch! My coach programs those for me and it would be so much easier to have my watch tell me when rather than continuously looking at it. My mind is just blown that you have that set up.

I had a deload week last week so my miles were at a minimum, which was good because I really needed it. And honestly, because it gets so warm and muggy here, I’ll take a gray and chilly June any time!

If you have a Garmin, you can either program it on the interval function on the watch (under Training) or on Garmin Connect and then export it to the watch. It makes fartleks so much easier because the watch beeps and laps the intervals automatically. I like it also because then it’s easier to review the data on Garmin Connect or Strava.

I’m very impressed Ollie runs 7-10 miles! What is he carrying in his hiking pack? For running, I’d absolutely want a chilly June. But for everything else — give me warm and sunny. Too bad I can’t have both! Thanks for linking!

He’s part red heeler, so he has a high level of endurance, especially if the weather is cool. He’s carrying the pups water bowl, water, and baggies in his backpack. On camping trips, we make him carry more because he’s very task-oriented. Thank you for hosting!

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Welcome to This Runner’s Recipes!

Hi, I'm Laura! I'm a distance runner, RRCA certified running coach, and outdoor enthusiast living in the greater Seattle area. Whether you want to run your first race or qualify for Boston, I'm here to help you achieve your personal best with training tips, coaching services, and nutritious recipes to fuel your running.